Kentucky · SOC 35-0000 · Annual, 2025
Food preparation and serving related occupations in Kentucky
Employment and average annual wage for SOC 35-0000 in Kentucky, 2004–2025, from DTG's OEWS-based estimates.
In 2025, about 175,000 people in Kentucky worked in food preparation and serving related occupations (SOC 35-0000), with an average annual wage of $32,950.
Employment in food preparation and serving related occupations in Kentucky grew 18.9% from 2020 to 2025. The average wage in this occupation group is 47.3% below the all-occupations average in Kentucky. Quarterly values, full occupation detail and projections to 2036 for Kentucky are included with a free account. County-level detail is part of every paid plan, or one county free for seven days.
- 175,000Employment, 2025
- $32,950Mean annual wage
- 8.8%Share of Kentucky jobs
- 1.00Location quotient
Employment, 2004 to 2025
Annual average · all ownerships
Annual employment, 2004–2025: 2004 147,600; 2005 150,400; 2006 153,500; 2007 156,800; 2008 156,700; 2009 153,400; 2010 153,800; 2011 156,100; 2012 160,000; 2013 163,700; 2014 166,200; 2015 170,400; 2016 174,700; 2017 175,400; 2018 174,400; 2019 175,000; 2020 147,200; 2021 157,200; 2022 167,100; 2023 172,500; 2024 174,500; 2025 175,000.
Last ten years
Annual · 10 years
| Year | Employment | Mean annual wage | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 174,984 | $32,951 | 0.3% |
| 2024 | 174,476 | $31,888 | 1.1% |
| 2023 | 172,548 | $30,504 | 3.3% |
| 2022 | 167,076 | $28,795 | 6.3% |
| 2021 | 157,184 | $26,847 | 6.8% |
| 2020 | 147,233 | $25,272 | 15.8% |
| 2019 | 174,968 | $23,681 | 0.3% |
| 2018 | 174,378 | $23,246 | 0.6% |
| 2017 | 175,401 | $22,593 | 0.4% |
| 2016 | 174,738 | $21,978 | 2.5% |
The full history from 2004 and quarterly values are available with a free account.
Where these numbers come from
Reading these figures
The figures on this page come from one named vintage, stated below, and are annual values for all ownerships combined. Every occupation value is a DTG estimate: there is no published county or state census of occupations to report, so no value here is marked as published or estimated, and none carries a reliability score. Quarterly figures, county figures, detailed occupations and projected years are in the app.
How these figures are built
DTG’s industry employment fixes how many jobs there are in each industry in the state. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ national industry-occupation matrix says how each industry is staffed, and the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey says how many people work in each occupation in the area and what they earn. DTG makes the three agree, so occupation employment sums to the same totals as industry employment. Employment is the annual average; the mean annual wage is the year’s total occupation wages divided by that average employment. The construction is described in full on the occupation data page.
Notes
Data Tactical Group is an independent company and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any federal agency.
Food preparation and serving related occupations in Kentucky, quarterly, at full depth
This page shows annual figures for food preparation and serving related occupations in Kentucky. A free account shows every detailed occupation in the group, quarterly, for every state, with projections to ten years. No card.
County figures, file export and the API are on paid plans.